Why You Should Start a Business in College

Starting a business is a lot of work and combining that with assignments and trying to achieve a degree can seem like madness to some people. But it’s actually a great time to start a business. In fact many of the biggest companies in existence were founded by students.

Google, Reddit, Dell, Facebook, WordPress, Fedex – all started when their founders were in college.

So while it might seem like it’s too much to take on, it didn’t stop some of the most successful companies in existence from making it.

Here are 5 reasons why you should start a business in college.

Nothing to Lose

After college we seem to accumulate more and more things that tie us down or add to our responsibilities. A mortgage, planning a wedding, kids etc. Each of these things make it much harder to consider taking the risk of starting a business, but make earning a steady paycheque more attractive.

When we’re in college, we don’t have to worry about these things. What’s going to stop us and what have we got to lose? Sure money might be an obstacle but it’s becoming easier and cheaper to start a business, particularly if it’s online.

This is the reason why many people are starting businesses when they’re younger. There’s a mentality that if they don’t do it then, they might lose the nerve or become too tied down in the future.

Network

In college you’ve an excellent network and sources of great minds via lecturers. Many will be glad to point you in the right direction, offer advice and brainstorm with you in order to help you with your startup. For all intents and purposes, they can act as a mentor.

On top of this, many lecturers will have contacts in useful places. If you’ve taken the time to build a relationship with them and they buy into your idea, they can introduce you to some really useful connections.

Finally, college is an excellent place to meet co-founders as well. Some of the most successful partnerships have come from attending the same colleges. Think Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

While you should take your time choosing a co-founder, a fellow student will have just as much time to you to devote to your new business.

Resources

While you’re at college you have access to a huge range of resources and most of them will be for free! Academic journals, research papers, market research reports, high speed internet connections and much more.

These things can cost a huge amount, particularly when so much research is needed to start a new venture.

Make the most of it while it’s there and use this advantage that people outside of college don’t have!

Don’t forget the other endless resource you have at your disposal, other students! Ask people to test your product, get feedback and make it better. Build excitement by allowing a certain amount of people limited aspect while you’re sorting out the kinks.

It’s a great way to get people excited and you’ll have excellent feedback which is essential for building a product that people are interested in.

Experience

If worse comes to worse, you’ll have an extra selling point on your resume after you’ve graduated. The initiative shown by starting your own business and the discipline it takes to get that done, is highly attractive to employers seeking entry level candidates. With an overcrowded job market it’s important to make yourself stand out.

If however you’re business turns into a viable option for full time employment after college you’re set! You’ve had the time in college to make your mistakes, adapt your business model, test it amongst your peers and refine everything.

Not many people have the luxury of being able to do this in an environment that’s so forgivable to making mistakes.

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